


May Fifteenth, Twenty Twelve

by flootzavut



Series: Rosefern [13]
Category: NCIS, NCIS: Pearl Harbor - Fandom
Genre: Family, Friendship, Gen, Harper Dearing, Kate Lives, Kibbs, NCIS: Pearl Harbor, Rosefern
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 09:30:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8839402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flootzavut/pseuds/flootzavut
Summary: The team on Oahu hear about the Harper Dearing bombing of the Navy Yard.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Set on the day of the bombing, and thus sometime after [Unexpected](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2358047/).
> 
> There are no graphic depictions of violence or actual character deaths "on screen", but this story is about the Hawaii office hearing about Dearing's attack on the Navy Yard, so some kind of warning seemed in order.
> 
> Additionally, I don't have a clue how big the NCIS office on Oahu is, and don't really have a way to find out! So my fictional version may not tally with reality.
> 
> In my head, it's a considerably smaller place than the main bullpen area we see on NCIS, and is home to all Oahu's NCIS staff (not just the investigative team) and possibly people from other Navy departments (MPs for example). So assume it's small and not exactly overstaffed, but busy all the same ;)

* * *

_**May Fifteenth, Twenty Twelve** _

* * *

 

Rich chewed absently on the pen in his hand. It was a nervous habit he'd disciplined out of himself in his teens, but after all these years the pressure of the situation was making him revert.

They'd been well aware of Harper Dearing, had seen the reports and the threat assessments, but the danger had been a long way away: important, but not urgent.

A terrorist attack on the Navy Yard? That might be just as distant, but it struck at the heart of the agency, and a vague threat had become painfully real on what had started out as a very ordinary morning.

Will and Kate were due in any moment, and he knew he'd be the one breaking the news. Everyone here already knew and was busy working, despite the stress on their drawn, white faces. Those not engrossed in hot cases were working contacts and chasing leads on the slender chance that someone, somewhere could pass on intel that would help catch the perpetrator and any accomplices he might have.

The usual petty rivalries between teams and agencies and jurisdictions had been pushed aside; Rich had never seen the kind of cooperation he was getting now. He wondered if Dearing had realised his actions would galvanise the law enforcement community across the entire country the way any number of orders and directives and initiatives could not. The man had signed his own death warrant.

Rich had come in earlier than usual, planning to catch up on paperwork. Being here when the news had come through... part of him wished he'd been lazy and stayed in bed.

"Boss?" He glanced up. Hana was maybe the one person in the room who didn't look scared or in shock. She looked  _angry_. "I got a contact with info." She frowned. "Well, maybe. I'm not sure. He wants to meet."

"Hana-"

"I know, I know, but I gotta do something, boss." There was a flicker of vulnerability in her face, but mostly it was fury. He hoped he'd never get on the wrong side of her. "Those people, they're Kate's  _friends_."

Rich sighed. "Just be careful, okay?"

She nodded shortly, turned on her heel and stalked off. It always surprised Rich how much menace was contained in one petite woman, how much like a prowling lioness she could look just walking through the office.

He went back to his computer, scanning the raw news footage for any clues as to what was happening in DC. This soon after the event, the place was chaos, but he had to hope he might see or hear or read something, anything he could tell Kate to reassure her.

He was still staring intently at the screen when he heard laughter, and looked up to see Kate and Will making their way across the office. They had a standing breakfast date on Tuesdays, and always came in in high spirits. Usually Rich thoroughly enjoyed the good mood they brought with them, though he made a show of grumbling now and then, but today he just hated the fact he was going to have to wreck it.

The atmosphere in the room was oppressive, and before they were even halfway to where he was sitting they both looked decidedly concerned.

Rich minimised the screen from ZNN. This was bad enough without taking the risk Kate might see someone she loved on the screen unexpectedly - injured, dead...

"What happened?" Kate demanded when they were a few feet away. "Rich, what's going on?"

Rich looked from her to Will and back again. "There was a bombing at the Navy Yard. They hit the NCIS HQ."

Kate's eyes went wide and the colour drained from her face. "What...? How...? I don't understand..."

"At the moment, we basically don't know anything, except that they believe Harper Dearing was responsible."

She sat down heavily into her desk chair, and blinked rapidly. "How bad?" Her voice was strained and quiet.

Rich took a deep breath, willed himself to stay calm and steady despite his own feelings. "It was... it was bad, Kate." He had to be truthful with her, but he really wished he had better news, or at least more comprehensive news. "They had some warning - they figured out his play before he got time to put it into action - but they didn't manage to evacuate everyone."

Will pulled a chair over to sit by her. He looked pretty shaken himself, but he had enough presence of mind to slip an arm around her shoulders and give her a reassuring hug.

Rich had never seen her eyes look quite so huge in her face. "Were there any fatalities?"

He nodded reluctantly. "I think so. I don't know much, it happened less than a half hour ago and-" he shrugged helplessly "-it's not like I can ring the Navy Yard for information." He took her hand for a second and gave it a squeeze. "I wish I knew more."

"My team?" Kate managed to croak, and Rich spread his hands in defeat.

"I don't know. I'm so sorry, Kate." It wasn't his fault, but being the one to give her such bad news and not even be able to temper it with something reassuring made him feel guilty. Everyone was feeling it, but Kate... She was already dealing with a lot of trauma, and she had friends as close as family in that building.

For a moment all three of them just sat in silence, the hushed bustle of the room washing over them.

Kate took a harsh breath. "What can we do?"

She still looked pale, drawn, but there was the Kate Todd he remembered from years ago and who had quickly become a vital member of his team. Rich decided now was not the time to commend her for pulling it together - he had a feeling drawing attention to it would only make it harder for her to maintain - but when this was over...

"Any contacts you can think of who might be able to track Dearing or his associates. Anyone who might have any information. Besides that the best thing we can do is just-" he shrugged again "-keep going, and be ready to act if they call on us."

She nodded jerkily, pressed her lips into a firm line.

Rich exchanged a look with Will, who very carefully withdrew his arm, and Kate turned her chair and rolled over to her workstation. Even from the back, he could tell she was vibrating with tension, but she was typing already, and he was reminded why he'd jumped at the chance to have her come work here.

For long, tense minutes, they worked in a silence only broken by the tap of fingers on keys and the occasional sigh of frustration.

Rich couldn't remember the last time he'd so much wanted to contribute to an investigation, or the last time he'd felt so helpless and  _useless_  in terms of actually having anything to offer.

The time ground on slowly, stretching out into what felt like hours with no news and no clue what was happening in DC. Rich kept half his attention on the ZNN feed, but besides devastation and confusion, there was precious little information on offer.

Just when he was beginning to think he might lose his mind, Kate's cellphone shrilled, and all three of their heads popped up. Kate turned and looked at them both before picking it up, her hand visibly shaking.

"Gibbs?" There was a pause, then a sound that was almost a sob. Rich tensed, afraid of what it might mean, then relaxed when she continued. "Oh God, I'm so glad you're okay. Okay. Okay. No, go, do what you need to do. Thanks so much for calling. Yes, me too. Please be careful!" She ended the call, then clasped both her hands around the phone and gave a shaky laugh. She turned back to her teammates, and the emotion she'd been swallowing down had finally leaked out as tears on her cheeks.

"Well..." She managed a tight smile. "Gibbs and Abby are both definitely alive. That's a good start, right?"

Will crossed the small space and hauled her up into a hug. Rich could hear her muffled laugh against Will's shoulder, and when Will released her she shook her head but looked much happier. "Idiot."

"Just so glad you had some good news," said Will, eyes wide and worried and hopeful, patting Kate's arm like he wanted to reassure her and had no idea how.

Will really was a puppy. Rich had never noticed the similarity between his partner and a labradoodle before Kate had pointed it out, but now he couldn't unsee it. It wasn't just the unruly mop of hair, it was his whole demeanour. Clearly, all he wanted to do right now was cheer Kate up, and he was both eager and clueless, like a dog whose mistress was upset.

Rich supposed that, as long as Will didn't start licking Kate's face or sniffing strangers' asses, the resemblance wasn't actually a liability. And at least he knew Kate would be getting plenty of TLC in the aftermath of this mess; Rich had a good idea Gibbs would hold  _him_  personally responsible for Kate's wellbeing, and he had no desire to incur the man's wrath. Kate hadn't officially been a member of Gibbs' team for a long time now, but Rich didn't think that'd stop Gibbs from keeping an eye out for Kate, or from exacting a suitable punishment if he felt she wasn't being properly looked after.

Kate mopped her face with Will's handkerchief. Rich had always teased him about that - he half expected Will to start wearing a pocket watch to go with his ridiculous insistence on cotton hankies - but admittedly, it was a useful habit at times.

She took a few deep breaths, steadying herself, then sat down. "Okay. Back to work."

Rich gave her a doubtful look. "You sure you're all right, Kate?"

She nodded. "I have to do whatever I can do, however little it is. I just... I  _have_  to."

Will grinned widely and lightly buffeted her shoulder. "Attagirl." Kate poked her tongue out at him for that and it was such a touch of normalcy Rich found himself laughing.

He looked between the two of them as they went back to work, and smiled briefly for the first time since the news had come in. He turned back to his own computer and set his jaw. They were bruised but not broken, and no terrorist was about to take them or this agency down.

_~ fin ~_


End file.
